IF THIS is Essendon's "line in the sand moment", as new president Dave Barham has called its decision to embark on an external review, the Bombers have a beach worth of territory to cover.

The future of coach Ben Rutten is but one – albeit significant – of the many aspects of the club which need to be assessed in detail.

Rutten's position looks untenable as the Bombers make a late charge for Alastair Clarkson. 

Rutten is into his second year fully in charge (and third with his control of the game strategy) and made the finals last year, but that hasn't historically been a strong omen for Essendon coaches – John Worsfold left in 2020, a year after making the finals in 2019, while Matthew Knights was sacked a year after making the finals in 2010. 

Rutten's game plan has not resonated with Essendon players and the disastrous 84-point loss to Port Adelaide on Sunday was the latest in a run of games this season where the Bombers have been uncompetitive. Rutten wanted his team to be 'blue collar'. They've been red-faced. 

But the review should entail a deep dive on many factors. The Bombers have this season been victim of a litany of soft-tissue injuries which has made having a strong run of form an even harder task. Many have also been re-occurrences. 

Jake Stringer, Kyle Langford, Dylan Shiel, Archie Perkins, James Stewart, Will Snelling and Darcy Parish are among the players to miss chunks of the year via soft-tissue concerns, with injuries plaguing the club over many years. 

The state of the Bombers' list must also be part of the club's external review process. Essendon has underachieved this year, but by how much? Does it have the players capable of challenging for the top-four? 

The Bombers never truly committed to a rebuild. They came close, with three top-six picks in the 2015-16 drafts, but then regained senior players from their supplements suspensions and a year later, in 2017, attacked the Trade Period heavily by bringing in Devon Smith, Adam Saad and Stringer and then Shiel a year after that.

Through necessity of Joe Daniher, Orazio Fantasia and Saad's group departure at the end of 2020 the Bombers hit the draft again and they have been on average the second youngest team in the AFL throughout this season. But the remaining holes on Essendon's list are obvious in their trade and free agency targets this year: a bigger-bodied midfielder (Angus Brayshaw), a small forward (Izak Rankine), a key forward (Ben King) and a key back (Alex Pearce). 

An external look at the club's operations are best placed to also navigate where the Essendon culture sits. 

The Bombers are notorious slow-starters in seasons: in star midfielder Zach Merrett's nine years at the club, the Bombers have had a better than 50 per cent winning ratio in the first 10 rounds of a season only once. If Rutten is replaced, Merrett will have his fifth full-time senior coach next year in 10 seasons. 

As the AFL's Manchester United, Essendon remains an off-field powerhouse, this year registering a record-high membership and a commercial cut-through that resonates with the best clubs. But its lack of on-field success since the departure of coach Kevin Sheedy (it has been 18 years since they won a final), has left them middle of the road on the most important markers.

Essendon's pursuit of Clarkson must live separate to seeking deeper answers on key questions that have pervaded the club.